🔧 submode.nvim

This plugin provide apis to create a submode and manipulate it.

These apis can be used on-the-fly: no need to call config that other plugin need.

⚠️ Warning

This plugin is in development stage and breaking changes may occure to apis. We recommend you to pin version for prevent unexpected change.

📋 Requirements

• Neovim >= 0.10.0

📓 Introduction

This plugin allow users to create submode, which has almost same keymaps as the parent mode like normal, insert, etc, but some keymaps is changed and is defined by user.

🚀 Create a submode

For example, when we try to move around windows, we need to press <C-w>h, <C-w>j, <C-w>k and <C-w>l multiple times. Therefore, it would be useful to be able to press <C-w> and then hjkl to move the window.

Fortunately, you can define such submode as follow.

local submode = require("submode")
submode.create("WinMove", {
    mode = "n",
    enter = "<C-w>",
    leave = { "q", "<ESC>" },
    default = function(register)
        register("h", "<C-w>h")
        register("j", "<C-w>j")
        register("k", "<C-w>k")
        register("l", "<C-w>l")
    end
})

This submode has default mappings hjkl for moving around windows, and you can enter this submode by pressing <C-w> when in normal mode. Once you enter this submode, you can use hjkl. You can leave from this submode by pressing q or escape, and after that hjkl cannot be used to move windows anymore.

🔍 Extend exists submode

Next, sometimes you may want to add a mappings to exist submode to extend the behavior of the submode. Is it possible in this plugin? The answer is yes.

For example, you have a submode defined as follow.

local submode = require("submode")
submode.create("test", {
    mode = "n",
    enter = "]",
    leave = { "q", "<ESC>" },
    default = function(register)
        register("1", function() vim.notify("1") end)
    end,
})

If you want to add 2 to notify 2, you can achieve it with the following code.

submode.set("test", "2", function() vim.notify("2") end)

This interface is compatible with vim.keymap.set, so you can easily define mappings the way you are used to.

Just as neovim provides vim.keymap.del, this plugin provides its compatible interface: submode.del. You can use it like as vim.keymap.set.

submode.del("test", "2")

One additional notable point is that default mappings created by submode.create doesn't change even if submode.set and submode.del is called in the order.

For example, if we call submode.set("test", "1", ""), this disable the behavior of 1 in test, but if we call submode.del("test", "1") after that, pressing 1 will notify 1.

🤏 Use different of submode.create and submode.set

We introduced two type of mappings: default mappings defined by submode.create and mappings defined by submode.set. So, how to use different?

The first is intended to provide a default mappings to user by submode creator, and second intended that user extend exist submode provided by someone.

As far as personal use, you can use either of way freely.

For example, the submode WinMove also can be defined as follow:

local submode = require("submode")
submode.create("WinMove", {
    mode = "n",
    enter = "<C-w>",
    leave = { "q", "<ESC>" },
})
submode.set("WinMove", "h", "<C-w>h")
submode.set("WinMove", "j", "<C-w>j")
submode.set("WinMove", "k", "<C-w>k")
submode.set("WinMove", "l", "<C-w>l")

If you created a plugin and want to provide a submode using this, it is preferred submode.create to define mappings as it allow user to override default mappings or remove overrided mappings to restore default mappings.

📥 Installation

With lazy.nvim

return {
    "pogyomo/submode.nvim",
    lazy = true,
    -- (recommended) specify version to prevent unexpected change.
    -- version = "6.0.0",
}

💡 Examples

• Submode to switch to lsp-related keymaps.

local submode = require("submode")

submode.create("LspOperator", {
    mode = "n",
    enter = "<Space>l",
    leave = { "q", "<ESC>" },
    default = function(register)
        register("d", vim.lsp.buf.definition)
        register("D", vim.lsp.buf.declaration)
        register("H", vim.lsp.buf.hover)
        register("i", vim.lsp.buf.implementation)
        register("r", vim.lsp.buf.references)
    end,
})

• Enable keymaps which is appropriate for reading help when open help.

local submode = require("submode")

submode.create("DocReader", {
    mode = "n",
    default = function(register)
        register("<Enter>", "<C-]>")
        register("u", "<cmd>po<cr>")
        register("r", "<cmd>ta<cr>")
        register("U", "<cmd>ta<cr>")
        register("q", "<cmd>q<cr>")
    end,
})

vim.api.nvim_create_augroup("DocReaderAugroup", {})
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufEnter", {
    group = "DocReaderAugroup",
    callback = function()
        if vim.opt.ft:get() == "help" and not vim.bo.modifiable then
            submode.enter("DocReader")
        end
    end,
})
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd({ "BufLeave", "CmdwinEnter" }, {
    group = "DocReaderAugroup",
    callback = function()
        if submode.mode() == "DocReader" then
            submode.leave()
        end
    end,
})

📅 User Events

The following user events will be triggered.

• SubmodeEnterPre
  • Emitted when submode.enter called and before process anything.
  • data attribute will hold name for corresponding submode name.
• SubmodeEnterPost
  • Emitted when submode.enter called and after all process done.
  • data attribute will hold name for corresponding submode name.
• SubmodeLeavePre
  • Emitted when submode.leave called and before process anything.
  • data attribute will hold name for corresponding submode name.
• SubmodeLeavePost
  • Emitted when submode.leave called and after all process done.
  • data attribute will hold name for corresponding submode name.

You can use these events with the following code:

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("User", {
    group = vim.api.nvim_create_augroup("user-event", {}),
    pattern = "SubmodeEnterPre", -- Name of user events
    callback = function(env)
        vim.notify("SubmodeEnterPre fired")
        vim.notify(string.format("submode: %s", env.data.name))
    end
})

🖥️ APIS

• create(name, opts, default)

  • Create a new submode.
  • name: string Name of this submode.
  • opts: table Options of this submode. Have the following fields.
    • mode: string Parent mode of this submode like "n", "v", etc.
    • show_mode?: boolean False to suppress mode() returns the submode name.
    • mode_name?: string | fun(): string Change the value mode() returns.
    • enter?: string | string[] Keys to enter to this submode.
    • leave?: string | string[] Keys to leave from this submode.
    • default?: function Callback to register default mappings. Take a following value:
      • register: fun(lhs: string, rhs: string | function, opts?: table) When called, this callback register given default mapping to this submode.
    • leave_when_mode_changed?: boolean Whether leave from current submode or not when parent mode is changed i.e. changed normal mode to visual mode. Default is false.
    • override_behavior?: string Behavior when the submode already exist. Accept following strings.
      • "error" Throw error. This is default.
      • "keep" Keep current submode.
      • "override" Override old submode.
  • default?: function Same functional as opts.default. This will be removed in future.

• set(name, lhs, rhs, opts)

  • Add a mapping to name. Same interface as vim.keymap.set.
  • name: string Name of target submode.
  • lhs: string Lhs of mapping.
  • rhs: string | fun():string? Rhs of mapping. Can be function.
  • opts?: table Options of this mapping. Same as opts of vim.keymap.set.

• del(name, lhs, opts)

  • Delete a mapping from name. Same interface as vim.keymap.del.
  • name: string Name of target submode.
  • lhs: string Lhs of mapping.
  • opts?: table Options for this deletion. Same as opts of vim.keymap.del.

• enter(name)

  • Enter the submode. This function only have effect if parent mode of the submode is same as current mode.
  • name: string Name of submode to enter.

• leave()

  • Leave from current submode. Nothing happen when we are not in submode.

• mode(): string | nil

  • Get current submode's name. Returns nil if not in submode, or show_mode is false.